Irish Premiership: Linfield and Cliftonville win as Warrenpoint relegated

Ethan Devine netted the winner as Linfield beat Crusaders 2-1 at Seaview to remain top of the Irish Premiership table with two games left to play.

Warrenpoint Town have been relegated from the Premiership despite a 1-0 win over Ballymena United.

Portadown drew 0-0 with Dungannon Swifts to secure the point they needed to stave off the automatic drop.

Glentoran were held to a goalless draw by Larne while Glenavon beat Carrick Rangers 1-0 thanks to Michael O’Connor’s late free-kick.

Linfield maintained their one-point advantage at the top thanks to another late intervention by substitute striker Devine.

Devine had previously scored crucial late goals against Cliftonville, Crusaders and Warrenpoint and popped up with another key strike after 69 minutes at Seaview after being introduced from the bench.

Matthew Clarke threaded the through ball and Devine applied the low left-foot finish into the bottom corner from an acute angle.

Jimmy Callacher had given the Blues the lead with a header from Niall Quinn’s free-kick but Jordan Forsythe found the net from a Brandon Doyle corner a minute before half-time to equalise.

In the second half, Eetu Vertainen headed against the post from Kirk Millar’s right-wing delivery, before Devine pounced to end the Crues’ winning streak of five league games.

First-half show keeps title race alive

In a bright first-half at the Showgrounds, Stephen O’Donnell headed over for Coleraine but from there it was all Cliftonville. Ryan Curran blazed over when he should have hit the target but the striker made amends from 12 yards on 18 minutes.

Rodney Brown was penalised to catching Jamie McDonagh as the winger raced into the area and Curran kept his composure to slot home the spot kick.

The 700-strong travelling support were treated to a second goal on 36 minutes when Lyndon Kane misjudged the flight of Rory Hale’s long ball which allowed Joe Gormley the time and space to double the Reds’ advantage.

Despite being comfortable at half-time it was Coleraine who came out stronger after the restart. Stephen Lowry’s powerful drive forced Luke McNicholas into a smart save and James McLaughlin’s spinning effort was inches the wrong side of the post.

Cliftonville’s Levi Ives smashed the crossbar with a free-kick on the edge of the area and Coleraine’s hopes of a comeback were hit on 74 minutes with when Jamie Glackin was shown a straight red card by referee Jamie Robinson for an off the ball incident.

However, Eoin Bradley set up a nervy finish when he dinked the ball over McNicholas but Paddy McLaughlin’s men held on to keep the pressure on Linfield heading into the penultimate game.